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Having met Schwartz and his team, I think you'd be surprised by how he describes his role: it's simple. That's why he can do the job at a young age. Burger Kin

by vm 12y ago

Having met Schwartz and his team, I think you'd be surprised by how he describes his role: it's simple. That's why he can do the job at a young age. Burger King sells a well-known product in a predictable market. They don't invent crazy new things. They operate efficiently and scale operations that work. Facebook pioneers technology and products that the world hasn't seen before. For Facebook to do so well requires a combination of grand vision, operational effectiveness, recruiting and managing ultra-high caliber talent, and more. Burger King isn't an "easy" business to run but it's a well-defined business with a simpler playbook than a company like Facebook. I'm sure BK's investors are great advisors but I suspect the company's success is because of the highly capable team tackling a market with a well defined playbook.

drum 12y ago
"They don't invent crazy new things." In the world of fast food, I see this as a problem. Taco Bell released the Dorito Loco Taco which has now made its way on to the main menu. Subway releases new promotional subs and items like the Flatizza, it seems almost bi-monthly. While the latter may not be as big of a success, it still garners awareness. I can't think of one "crazy" item Burger King has released in the last few years.
- Alupis 12y ago
  Why, oh why, does Taco Bell's "breakfast" not have damn salsa!? I mean, it's mexican food, for breakfast (not!). So ya, nobody does do "crazy" anymore in Fast Food. Just normal, add some more onions + BBQ Sauce and it will sell.
  - Scuttles 12y ago
    Wondered the same thing. A waffle taco? How about an egg burrito with some salsa and cheese? That's my idea of a Taco Bell Breakfast (go Del Taco Breakfast!)
  - adl 12y ago
    Taco Bell is NOT Mexican food by any stretch of imagination. (I'm Mexican, and I can enjoy Taco Bell, it's just not Mexican food, Maybe Tex-Mex)
- raverbashing 12y ago
  The thing with products like BK, TB and such is this: Inventing something is "easy" Now, after inventing it you have to: - engage your whole supply chain for the needed ingredients and make sure they reach their destination - engage marketing, produce all the needed support (packaging, new menus, new billing items, etc) - create procedures and train staff - deploy new equipment if needed
  - bsilvereagle 12y ago
    I don't remember the name for it off the top of my head, but Yum! brands do their best to 'create' items that use ingredients already in their stores. If I remember correctly Taco Bell has 26 ingredients that everything on their menu is made of.
- drcube 12y ago
  Chicken fries?
- icegreentea 12y ago
  They tried the 'satis-fries' this (last?) year. Basically, trying to make a 'healthier' alternative to normal fries, while trying to avoid making it obvious that their normal fries are actually unhealty.
- russgray 12y ago
  I wouldn't call it a "crazy" item, but I do love me one of BK's Angry Whoppers which is significantly different (read: it actually has a bit of spice to it) to the offerings of most big burger chains.
mattmanser 12y ago
In the UK Burger King has been absolutely destroyed by McD's and Subway on the highstreet. The only time I ever see a busy BK is in their monopolies in motorway service stations and inside railway stations. Is it different in America? Still relevant?
- Aloha 12y ago
  Very much so, yes.
- joezydeco 12y ago
  No, it's the same in America. BK has lagged way behind McDs and Subway on various fronts. Lack of new product items, old technology, minimal promotion, dirty and outdated dining rooms. The last BK near me that hasn't closed down looks like it hasn't had a coat of paint in 15 years. Meanwhile McDs is tearing down and rebuilding new stores ground-up all over town. Twenty or thirty years ago, in America, McDonald's and BK were literally in a deadlocked battle of the giants. Burger wars! Those days are long gone.
  - Shivetya 12y ago
    Well up until just a few years ago BK was in near constant fights with its franchise owners. That and changing ownership a few times isn't going to give you a good base to operate from. That and McDonald's just owns kids.
    - Alupis 12y ago
      I still prefer a BK burger to most MCD's burgers. There is a BK near the office, and I used to attempt a drive-thru on my lunch -- but, their drive-thru was actually slower than going inside. After a few attempts (and being late back to the office once) I gave up.
      - joezydeco 12y ago
        To contrast, there are a group of McDonald's stores near my office that are testing a linked drive-thru timing application. There's a scoreboard visible from inside the work area that ranks all the local stores in terms of drive-thru speed and service time. They've gamified the system.
pitt1980 12y ago
why can't a burger place invent a 'crazy new thing'? seems like new food inventions drive alot of the marketing behind their competetors trying out new menu items is just 1 thing that pops to mind, and I'm probably completely missing 100 other things that a burger place could inovate on
- TillE 12y ago
  Delivery would be an obvious one. I could be wrong, but except for pizza, I don't believe any of the major American fast food chains deliver. Maybe they've all done the math and it doesn't make financial sense, I don't know. But there's certainly nothing inherent about the type of food that makes it impossible; I've had great burgers and fries delivered by a few independent restaurants.
  - heyalexej 12y ago
    In Malaysia and Thailand some BK and McDonald's deliver. But then again, I don't know if it's up to them to decide or if it's being done because of the competitive environment. You can basically find great food at almost any given time within walking distance.
    - nakkiel 12y ago
      There's the competitive aspect in economies where street-food is the norm but then keep in mind that it's dirt cheap to deliver there. In Thailand a delivery worker earns 220 USD a month.
  - j_s 12y ago
    Funny you should mention that on this story... https://bkdelivers.com/ https://bkdelivers.com/
    - chuck8088 12y ago
      Just so you know, it's a 3rd party doing that delivery.
7Figures2Commas 12y ago
> I'm sure BK's investors are great advisors... Bill Ackman is the hedge fund investor who played a key role in formulating Burger King's current strategy[1]. Ackman brought former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson in to run J.C. Penney, which turned out to be a huge disaster. Ackman reportedly lost ~$500 million. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Ackman is not a smart man based on one failed investment. In fact, I'd argue that he was 100% correct about the need for J.C. Penney to change, but it's one thing to identify a need for change and another to make the right change. If you execute well the wrong strategy, you're still going to fail. The problem with Burger King is that what you call "a well defined playbook" is far from a proven playbook. There has been a trend in the restaurant business for chains to reduce the number of stores they own, but as a percentage of all stores, Burger King has basically dumped all of its company stores. Today, that gives Burger King a financial profile that investors can cheer, but the company's ultimate success depends on what happens tomorrow. There are more reasons than not to believe Burger King's strategy will hinder and not help the company over the long haul. If I was an investor in such a competitive space, I'd absolutely bet on companies being led by a visionary leader like Steve Ells (founder and CEO of Chipotle) over companies being led by former Wall Street folks with little to no restaurant experience. [1] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203335504578086363514686362 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405297020333550...
mathattack 12y ago
Their challenge is they have to scale via people, as opposed to via technology (like Google) or money (Hedge Funds). This can be very difficult. That said, if the plan is right, sometimes it is energy that's required to make things happen. If some very wise board members have set the right strategy, I think he can pull it off. I'm not sure if it's any harder or easier than Facebook, but in today's economy, the right skills and intensity are more important than the longest resume.
steveklabnik 12y ago
> They don't invent crazy new things. I remember reading something about McDonald's chefs. As in, the people who design new menu items. One of them described it as a really interesting job, because you have to take into account things like 'what is the world supply of this ingredient.' I forget what their example was, but they had built something new, and they had determined though sales projections that McDonald's would have to purchase _the entire world supply_ of this ingredient for it to work out. Or, consider things like the McRib. If I remember correctly, McDonald's only offers it for limited times because they have to wait until the pork market is cheap enough that they can turn a profit. I worked at a pizza chain, and our chefs often had to make new foods work with the ingredients we already were stocking, at least, as much as possible. There is creativity and invention in fast food, it just works under a very peculiar set of constraints.

by vm 12y ago

drum 12y ago

"They don't invent crazy new things." In the world of fast food, I see this as a problem. Taco Bell released the Dorito Loco Taco which has now made its way on to the main menu. Subway releases new promotional subs and items like the Flatizza, it seems almost bi-monthly. While the latter may not be as big of a success, it still garners awareness. I can't think of one "crazy" item Burger King has released in the last few years.

Alupis 12y ago
Why, oh why, does Taco Bell's "breakfast" not have damn salsa!? I mean, it's mexican food, for breakfast (not!). So ya, nobody does do "crazy" anymore in Fast Food. Just normal, add some more onions + BBQ Sauce and it will sell.
- Scuttles 12y ago
  Wondered the same thing. A waffle taco? How about an egg burrito with some salsa and cheese? That's my idea of a Taco Bell Breakfast (go Del Taco Breakfast!)
- adl 12y ago
  Taco Bell is NOT Mexican food by any stretch of imagination. (I'm Mexican, and I can enjoy Taco Bell, it's just not Mexican food, Maybe Tex-Mex)
raverbashing 12y ago
The thing with products like BK, TB and such is this: Inventing something is "easy" Now, after inventing it you have to: - engage your whole supply chain for the needed ingredients and make sure they reach their destination - engage marketing, produce all the needed support (packaging, new menus, new billing items, etc) - create procedures and train staff - deploy new equipment if needed
- bsilvereagle 12y ago
  I don't remember the name for it off the top of my head, but Yum! brands do their best to 'create' items that use ingredients already in their stores. If I remember correctly Taco Bell has 26 ingredients that everything on their menu is made of.
drcube 12y ago
Chicken fries?
icegreentea 12y ago
They tried the 'satis-fries' this (last?) year. Basically, trying to make a 'healthier' alternative to normal fries, while trying to avoid making it obvious that their normal fries are actually unhealty.
russgray 12y ago
I wouldn't call it a "crazy" item, but I do love me one of BK's Angry Whoppers which is significantly different (read: it actually has a bit of spice to it) to the offerings of most big burger chains.

mattmanser 12y ago

In the UK Burger King has been absolutely destroyed by McD's and Subway on the highstreet. The only time I ever see a busy BK is in their monopolies in motorway service stations and inside railway stations. Is it different in America? Still relevant?

Aloha 12y ago
Very much so, yes.
joezydeco 12y ago
No, it's the same in America. BK has lagged way behind McDs and Subway on various fronts. Lack of new product items, old technology, minimal promotion, dirty and outdated dining rooms. The last BK near me that hasn't closed down looks like it hasn't had a coat of paint in 15 years. Meanwhile McDs is tearing down and rebuilding new stores ground-up all over town. Twenty or thirty years ago, in America, McDonald's and BK were literally in a deadlocked battle of the giants. Burger wars! Those days are long gone.
- Shivetya 12y ago
  Well up until just a few years ago BK was in near constant fights with its franchise owners. That and changing ownership a few times isn't going to give you a good base to operate from. That and McDonald's just owns kids.
  - Alupis 12y ago
    I still prefer a BK burger to most MCD's burgers. There is a BK near the office, and I used to attempt a drive-thru on my lunch -- but, their drive-thru was actually slower than going inside. After a few attempts (and being late back to the office once) I gave up.
    - joezydeco 12y ago
      To contrast, there are a group of McDonald's stores near my office that are testing a linked drive-thru timing application. There's a scoreboard visible from inside the work area that ranks all the local stores in terms of drive-thru speed and service time. They've gamified the system.

pitt1980 12y ago

why can't a burger place invent a 'crazy new thing'? seems like new food inventions drive alot of the marketing behind their competetors trying out new menu items is just 1 thing that pops to mind, and I'm probably completely missing 100 other things that a burger place could inovate on

TillE 12y ago
Delivery would be an obvious one. I could be wrong, but except for pizza, I don't believe any of the major American fast food chains deliver. Maybe they've all done the math and it doesn't make financial sense, I don't know. But there's certainly nothing inherent about the type of food that makes it impossible; I've had great burgers and fries delivered by a few independent restaurants.
- heyalexej 12y ago
  In Malaysia and Thailand some BK and McDonald's deliver. But then again, I don't know if it's up to them to decide or if it's being done because of the competitive environment. You can basically find great food at almost any given time within walking distance.
  - nakkiel 12y ago
    There's the competitive aspect in economies where street-food is the norm but then keep in mind that it's dirt cheap to deliver there. In Thailand a delivery worker earns 220 USD a month.
- j_s 12y ago
  Funny you should mention that on this story... https://bkdelivers.com/ https://bkdelivers.com/
  - chuck8088 12y ago
    Just so you know, it's a 3rd party doing that delivery.

7Figures2Commas 12y ago

> I'm sure BK's investors are great advisors... Bill Ackman is the hedge fund investor who played a key role in formulating Burger King's current strategy[1]. Ackman brought former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson in to run J.C. Penney, which turned out to be a huge disaster. Ackman reportedly lost ~$500 million. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Ackman is not a smart man based on one failed investment. In fact, I'd argue that he was 100% correct about the need for J.C. Penney to change, but it's one thing to identify a need for change and another to make the right change. If you execute well the wrong strategy, you're still going to fail. The problem with Burger King is that what you call "a well defined playbook" is far from a proven playbook. There has been a trend in the restaurant business for chains to reduce the number of stores they own, but as a percentage of all stores, Burger King has basically dumped all of its company stores. Today, that gives Burger King a financial profile that investors can cheer, but the company's ultimate success depends on what happens tomorrow. There are more reasons than not to believe Burger King's strategy will hinder and not help the company over the long haul. If I was an investor in such a competitive space, I'd absolutely bet on companies being led by a visionary leader like Steve Ells (founder and CEO of Chipotle) over companies being led by former Wall Street folks with little to no restaurant experience. [1] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203335504578086363514686362 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405297020333550...

mathattack 12y ago

Their challenge is they have to scale via people, as opposed to via technology (like Google) or money (Hedge Funds). This can be very difficult. That said, if the plan is right, sometimes it is energy that's required to make things happen. If some very wise board members have set the right strategy, I think he can pull it off. I'm not sure if it's any harder or easier than Facebook, but in today's economy, the right skills and intensity are more important than the longest resume.

steveklabnik 12y ago

> They don't invent crazy new things. I remember reading something about McDonald's chefs. As in, the people who design new menu items. One of them described it as a really interesting job, because you have to take into account things like 'what is the world supply of this ingredient.' I forget what their example was, but they had built something new, and they had determined though sales projections that McDonald's would have to purchase _the entire world supply_ of this ingredient for it to work out. Or, consider things like the McRib. If I remember correctly, McDonald's only offers it for limited times because they have to wait until the pork market is cheap enough that they can turn a profit. I worked at a pizza chain, and our chefs often had to make new foods work with the ingredients we already were stocking, at least, as much as possible. There is creativity and invention in fast food, it just works under a very peculiar set of constraints.